TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syrian Army troops liberated several villages in the northwestern Idlib province, taking the final steps to retake the terrorist-held town of Saraqib.

As the battle against the remnants of Takfiri terrorist groups in Syria has gained momentum, the army liberated the villages of al-Othmania and Tal Aloush on the outskirts of Saraqib on Sunday.

It paves the way for full liberation of Saraqib, which would in turn break the al-Nusra Front terrorist group’s links in the battlefield.

The Syrian forces, backed by the Russian air force, have been trying to reach Saraqib under cover of airstrikes. They are pushing towards a key highway that connects Damascus and Aleppo, Syria’s two largest cities.

Elsewhere in the western province of Hama, the Syrian troops retook control of three villages from the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group on Sunday, SANA reported.

The operation led to the liberation of al-Jadida, Um Hariza and Smiria villages. Demining units have begun sweeping the freed zones.

In January, pro-government fighters, led by the Tiger Forces, recaptured the Abu Dhuhour military airbase in Idlib province.

Idlib has been a haven for tens of thousands of rebels and civilians who were forced to abandon their homes in other parts of western Syria that the government and its foreign military allies have recaptured from terrorists.

Syria is in the final stages of a battle against Takfiri terrorist groups, which poured into the Arab country after the outbreak of a civil war in 2011.

On November 19, Daesh was flushed out of its last stronghold in Syria’s Al-Bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.